'X' Rating for 'Saw VI' Is An Overreaction

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By this time, nearly everyone has heard that Saw VI will be given an "X" rating in Spain. This means that Saw VI will not be released nationwide; instead, it will be limited to the eight theaters in all of Spain that are licensed to show "pornographic" material. Apparently, the violence and gore in this movie is so disturbing that it needs to be relegated to those dirty, back-alley places that most people associate with hourly motels and men who look like Ron Jeremy. This, of course, begs the question: What in the hell is wrong with Spain?

There simply isn't any justification for censoring Saw VI in this way. The movie is being punished for doing exactly what it's supposed to do. Anyone who's even remotely familiar with horror films knows that some of the basic tenets are violence, blood, and creative ways of bringing death. The Saw franchise is unrivaled in all of these regards, and from all accounts is about to set the standard yet again. And this is why it's being denied widespread release?

Imagine if the MPAA decided to slap an "X" rating onto a movie for being too romantic, or too funny, or too dramatic. It sounds ridiculous, but it's no different than what's happening here. Saw VI is supposed to be a disturbing movie. It is supposed to be a frightening movie. It is supposed to make you a little uncomfortable about the world you live in. Might it be too disturbing for some people? Absolutely, but that doesn't mean that it should be made virtually inaccessible to everyone. Different people have different amounts of tolerance, and it's not right to deny the whole population because a few of the weaker stomachs happen to be on the ratings board. Personal responsibility has to play a role somewhere. If you're old enough to attend an R-rated movie, you should be old enough to know whether or not you can handle it. You shouldn't need a government agency to tell you, and quite frankly, you should be insulted whenever one tries.

In the end, Spain's censorship of Saw is really just an inconvenience, since the movie will still be playing at certain theaters throughout the country. The real issue is the precedent that has been set. What if next time, it isn't the violence that is deemed too disturbing, but the message? What if next time, we aren't being kept from seeing blood, but from understanding an idea? That wouldn't just be unacceptable, it would be dangerous, and far more frightening than anything Hollywood could put up on a screen.